The Hush-Hush News Report 01.25.11: Extremely Old-Fashioned and Incredibly Close-Minded

Posted by Jeremy Wilson on 01.25.2012

New and thoughts on the latest on The Avengers' villains, the big winners and losers in the Oscar nominations, the latest on the reboots of The Crow and The Evil Dead., an update on the third film in the Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz trilogy and more!





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What a crappy start to the week. My Ravens...*sigh*. Very few worse ways to lose a football game. That game will haunt my sleep for years to come. Kickers...

Plus, the Oscar nominations are out. My thoughts are below, but needless to say I DO NOT APPROVE OF EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE being anywhere near these awards. Scott Rudin and Stephen Daldry must have J. Edgar Hoover-style files on Academy members. The only way to explain it. We'll dig more into the nominations as the weeks go by (including an Oscar pool I fully intend to win; the gauntlet has already been thrown down by Ben Piper and Chad Webb). Much like Harvey Weinstein, I fully intend to steamroll the two of them on my way to a total and thorough victory.

On a brighter note, THIS had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival over the weekend. I...can't...wait.



Anyway, on with the news...



The Avengers Are Coming, But Facing Who?



We already know Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is the chief villain in the upcoming mega-blockbuster, "The Avengers." What is less clear is who exactly is backing him up. We know an alien race is joining Loki and forces The Avengers to team up, but we haven't learned who they are yet. Many have believed it to be the Skrulls. However, Marvel's Kevin Feige has now shot down that notion, perhaps for good.

"It's not Skrulls, I've been clear about that. Beyond that, we want to hide it. The identity of the alien race is not impactful. It exists in the comic books, but we're not setting up the Kree-Skrull war or anything like that." As to whether there is a rumored cameo from Red Skull? "It would be fun to see Skull in future, but he's not in this one."

As for Loki? Hiddleston spoke with Empire, telling them: "He knows who he is now, and what his powers are. In order for The Avengers to come together, Loki has to be more menacing, and all of his malevolence is founded in a completely delusional dream."



I don't know about you, but I'm a bit drained with all the spoilers, rumors and leaks, especially when it concerns the two biggest films of the upcoming summer. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to The Avengers like everyone else and I'm interested enough to see what's going on with it before it's released. But this feels like one of those things that is going to lead people to be disappointed, because they either wanted or thought the Skrulls were going to be in the movie. I don't really care who the alien race is; I'm much more intrigued to see if Joss Whedon can pull this off and THIS will be the film that finally launches him into being more than "The TV guy" (you just know that's what studio execs derisively call him behind his back). The Avengers is going to be huge and make a ton of money, but can it make Marvel and Whedon fanboys, critics and studio execs are happy with the final product? I am intrigued to see if he can do it.


Much Like The Crow, Its Reboot Won't Die



After a protracted legal battle, the legal wranglings holding up the long-rumored reboot of "The Crow" seem to be no more. Now that the lawsuit between Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company is settled, production on the rebooted film is moving forward and quickly at that. F. Javier Gutiérrez ("Before The Fall") has been tapped to direct the new version, while Jesse Wigutow ("8 Mile," "Eragon," "The Ruins" and "Tron: Legacy") will pen the script. Even though the two are relative unknowns, it is expected (although we don't yet have strong rumors at this point) the cast will have more name recognition.

Obviously, you all didn't clap hard enough...and now Tinker Bell has died. Good job, America. We've had a ton of rumors surrounding an update version of The Crow for so long now that it is impossible to separate them in my mind. So I'll ask all of you: Who should star in The Crow?


Snow White Leaves Evil Dead Remake



Speaking of remakes and reboots you don't want, it has been reported that Lily Collins, of the upcoming "Mirror, Mirror" has left the updated reboot of "The Evil Dead" because of scheduling conflicts. Collins was reported to have played a character akin to Ash from the original films. This means currently there is no set cast for the film with Collins dropping out. The coveted role is expected to be highly sought among Hollywood up-and-comers, with franchise potential expected to be high, especially in light of recent success at the box office for smaller-budgeted horror flicks.

The film's story "five twenty-something friends who become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead. An archaeologist's tape recording reveals that the ancient text was discovered among the Khandarian ruins of a Sumerian civilization. Playing the taped incantations, the youths unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival."The story follows "five twenty-something friends who become holed up in a remote cabin where they discover a Book Of The Dead. An archaeologist's tape recording reveals that the ancient text was discovered among the Khandarian ruins of a Sumerian civilization. Playing the taped incantations, the youths unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival."

The remake/reboot is being produced by original director Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Bruce Campbell, and is being directed by Fede Alvarez with a rewritten script from Diablo Cody ("Juno," "Jennifer's Body," "Young Adult"). The film is tentatively scheduled to be released April 12th, 2013.

Yep, so that's happening. I'm pretty sure the only thing that could upset long-time, hardcore Evil Dead fans more would be swapping one 2012 Snow White for another. Kristen Stewart anyone? (I'm KIDDING...although, you know studio executives wouldn't mind). Same as with The Crow remake above, I'll ask the peanut gallery: Who should star in The Evil Dead remake?


Mint Chocolate Chip For Everybody At The World's End



Fanboys and The Twitterati were sent into a tizzy with teasing news coming from Edgar Wright's twitter account about what appears to be Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost working once again on the much-anticipated "The World's End" – aka, the film to complete their "Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy" (also known as "The Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy"). Fans have eagerly waited for the third installment (following "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz") and while we don't have any real details yet, we do at least have photographic proof of the team working on it.



It's called what it is (in addition to the "Three Flavours Trilogy") as red strawberry is featured in "Shaun of the Dead" and a blue Classic flavor appears/is mentioned in "Hot Fuzz." Green mint chocolate chip is reported to be featured in "The World's End."

Sounds yummy.


Sundance Darling Beasts Of The Southern Wild Gets Bought



Consider this your Sundance update. 411 tried to send staff to Park City, Utah this year, but only provided enough gas money for a road trip to Arby's about a half hour from the 411 Command Center. We had to walk back since the company jalopy broke down. We truly live the good life. Anyway... one of the most buzzed about films of the festival has found distribution as Fox Searchlight purchased the fantastical and slightly strange Bayou film,"Beasts of the Southern Wild," for an undisclosed fee. The film received a wildly enthusiastic response after its world premiere on Friday and all the major indie/boutique studios were in pursuit.

The Hollywood Reporter described the film and its production this way:

"Developed at the Sundance Institute filmmaker labs and cast with non-professional actors, Beasts centers on Hushpuppy, a six-year-old girl who lives with her tough-love father at the edge of the water on the outside of protective levees in southernmost Louisiana. As he becomes sick and tries to prepare her for the end of the universe, mildly apocalyptic events cause the seas to rise, animals and trees to begin dying and giant, prehistoric creatures to thaw from the ice caps. As they struggle to survive with a handful of their neighbors who also refuse to leave their water-drenched home (called the Bathtub), Hushpuppy is forced to comprehend her place in the universe.

Zeitlin wrote the film with Lucy Alibar. Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey and Josh Penn produced the project.

The film, which is in the U.S. narrative competition, played to a rapturous response for its unique vision and strange beauty. A charming Q&A afterwards that included Quvenzhane Wallis, the young girl who plays Hushpuppy, added to the goodwill trailing the film."

It is expected Fox Searchlight will release the film later this year.

Beasts of the Southern Wild has proven to be one of the big, standout hits early on at Sundance this year, even if it's not necessarily the most commercially viable film. From what I've heard about it and what others have said, it sounds truly unique and at a minimum, incredibly compelling. The response to the film's star, Quvenzhane Wallis, has been just as talked about as the film itself, as her first words at the Q&A were ""I'm Quvenzhane Wallis, and I like to have parties!" She's six.

Steve Pond of The Wrap put it this way: "A storm blew into Sundance's Eccles Theatre on Friday afternoon, and it had nothing to do with the snow that fell all night on Park City. This storm was a bracing and confounding Delta drama called "Beasts of the Southern Wild" – a movie, you could say, for people who think "Treme" doesn't have enough gumbo, "Take Shelter" could use more apocalypse, "Where the Wild Things Are" isn't wild enough and "When the Levees Broke" could have done with a few prehistoric creatures rampaging through the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."

If it comes anywhere close to the quality of those movies mentioned above, that would be something pretty extraordinary. As it stands, it is definitely one to watch for as the year goes on, in terms of American indie film-making.


The MPAA Tucks Its Tail, Hides In Corner And Licks Its Wounds



The MPAA, RIAA – in fact, the entertainment industry in general got their butts kicked last week. Like a tidal wave no one saw coming, the internet blackouts and protest last Wednesday swept everything int their path, including being prominently featured in every news outlet in the world. By the way, thanks for that Wikipedia. Well, apparently this took MPAA Chairman Chris Dodd and friends by complete surprise...and like the scolded, defeated dog they currently are, they now want to...negotiate?

At a Sundance panel, both Dodd and John Fithian (President/CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners) expressed similar sentiments, after the panel moderator called them out and telling them "You got your butts kicked."

Fithian told the crowd: "This was the most amazing turnaround of public opinion in the 25 years I've been a professional lobbyist. We were up there since Day One and took 25 of my [exhibitor] CEOs and met with 50 members of Congress. We asked each member of Congress if there was anything they need to make the legislation clear and nobody said anything. Google read the legislation at the same time and didn't say a word. But in November the greatest backlash ever occurred." Fithian described the pushback as scare-mongering that convinced the public the legislation would shut down the internet. "For people who have spent our lives defending free speech, this was astounding."

He went on to say: "The backlash occurred, Google made its point, they're big and tough and we get it. Hopefully now reasonable minds will prevail. Senator Dodd and his team are quite good at this. We'll sit down with them and ask what has to be done to make legislation more narrowly tailored. But the reality is we have to stop these rogue websites. They're stealing jobs from my members. It's not Senator Dodd's big wealthy studio executives, it's the 160,000 Americans who earn on average $11 an hour at my cinemas. Those are the jobs at stake."

Then Christopher Dodd piped up, saying that "I think most people agree about the theft of intellectual property. The question is then what do we do about it? We need to lower the emotion around this. Can we have a thoughtful and rational and intelligent discussion about a legitimate issue without being overloaded and swamped by misinformation?" Dodd said. "Content without technology, and technology without content, makes no sense. And asking people to make a choice between the two is ludicrous on its face. How do we get these two communities to realize that they need each other instead of asking consumers to pick a side?"

Do we agree? I think that's a fair way to start the conversation – although I don't think that's where they want to begin it. Is piracy, really that big of a deal? Or is it the digital equivalent of shoplifting? Is it a serious, apocalyptic problem for the entertainment industry? Or are they simply reacting the same way they always do to a new technological advancement?

I'm not saying it's not wrong and that it doesn't factor into revenue losses for content creators and distributors. The fact of the matter is, however, that loss prevention is a reality – just ask retail. Many retail outfits factor in losses of 10-20% right off the bat. And like the war on drugs and shoplifting, you aren't going to ever fully rid your industry of it. It doesn't mean you don't strive to get it under control or go after widespread criminal copyright infringers. The problem, of course, is that the MPAA, RIAA and others have never – NOT ONCE – been able to provide accurate, independent information as to the actual losses due to piracy. That's because it's virtually impossible.

I've got news for Dodd, Fithian and others. Piracy isn't going away...unless you adapt to the times and provide an outlet – viable, easy-to-use and cheap enough for the average consumer – for your goods. At that same panel, both Dodd and Fithian dismissed "cheap" digital services like Netflix and others as "bad business models." Umm, excuse me? You are practically on your hands and knees crying foul about piracy and the need to tilt the internet in your favor because you are losing money, but you poo-poo the best possible avenue for cutting piracy off at the knees and making money? That's one problem with their argument. The internet may have won the battle last week, but trust me – the war is a long way from being over. SOPA and PIPA will be back in a new form, or down the line; these are industries that have a lot of money (no matter what they say) on hand and have lobbied the government for the better part of a century. They know the game, even if they don't truly know or understand the technological changes under their feet. They will be back.


Trailer Face-Off:

This week's trailer face-off showcases the two major wide releases hitting theaters this week: The Grey, Man On A Ledge and One for the Money. Stop laughing, just because you (or anybody else we may know) may go see the Katherine Heigl "rom-com" doesn't mean someone might not see it...by accident or something. Anyway...

Are you planning on seeing any or all of these? Which looks better? Let me know in the comments.



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The 84th Academy Awards Nominations

Ah yes. We have come to it at last. The speculation and campaigning is over. The bitching and head-scratching can now commence. This year's Academy Awards nominations are...much the same as they ever are. Full of pleasant surprises, infuriating snubs and hard-to-explain hypocrisy. I know you all are smart enough to know this, but it bears reminder particularly on a day like this. The Oscars are not the ultimate in what is "best" in film for a given year. They are an industry event that is the culmination in what Hollywood wants to project as the best in mainstream American film-making. It is about power, influence and legacy as much as anything else. On that front, the Oscars do matter...much like the Hall of Fames in sports. Those who win an Oscar will always have that mentioned after their name. Sometimes they get it right. Sometimes they get it wrong. Sometimes they are interesting. More often than not, we know who's going to win weeks – if not months – in advance. Here are the nominees, my general thoughts follow:



Best Picture
"The Artist" Thomas Langmann, Producer
"The Descendants" Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" Scott Rudin, Producer
"The Help" Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
"Hugo" Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
"Midnight in Paris" Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
"Moneyball" Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
"The Tree of Life" Nominees to be determined
"War Horse" Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Directing
"The Artist" Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Alexander Payne
"Hugo" Martin Scorsese
"Midnight in Paris" Woody Allen
"The Tree of Life" Terrence Malick

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in "A Better Life"
George Clooney in "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin in "The Artist"
Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt in "Moneyball"

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in "My Week with Marilyn"
Jonah Hill in "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte in "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer in "Beginners"
Max von Sydow in "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis in "The Help"
Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep in "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn"

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain in "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy in "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer in "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer in "The Help"

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants" Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo" Screenplay by John Logan
"The Ides of March" Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball" Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist" Written by Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids" Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call" Written by J.C. Chandor
"Midnight in Paris" Written by Woody Allen
"A Separation" Written by Asghar Farhadi

Animated Feature Film
"A Cat in Paris" Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
"Chico & Rita" Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
"Kung Fu Panda 2" Jennifer Yuh Nelson
"Puss in Boots" Chris Miller
"Rango" Gore Verbinski

Foreign Language Film
"Bullhead" Belgium
"Footnote" Israel
"In Darkness" Poland
"Monsieur Lazhar" Canada
"A Separation" Iran

Documentary (Feature)
"Hell and Back Again" Danfung Dennis and Mike Lerner
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front" Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory" Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
"Pina" Wim Wenders and Gian-Piero Ringel
"Undefeated" TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay and Richard Middlemas

Art Direction
"The Artist" Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
"Hugo" Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
"Midnight in Paris" Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
"War Horse" Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales

Cinematography
"The Artist" Guillaume Schiffman
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Jeff Cronenweth
"Hugo" Robert Richardson
"The Tree of Life" Emmanuel Lubezki
"War Horse" Janusz Kaminski

Costume Design
"Anonymous" Lisy Christl
"The Artist" Mark Bridges
"Hugo" Sandy Powell
"Jane Eyre" Michael O'Connor
"W.E." Arianne Phillips

Documentary (Short Subject)
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement" Robin Fryday and Gail Dolgin
"God Is the Bigger Elvis" Rebecca Cammisa and Julie Anderson
"Incident in New Baghdad"James Spione
"Saving Face" Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" Lucy Walker and Kira Carstensen

Film Editing
"The Artist" Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants" Kevin Tent
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
"Hugo" Thelma Schoonmaker
"Moneyball" Christopher Tellefsen

Makeup
"Albert Nobbs" Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
"The Iron Lady" Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin" John Williams
"The Artist" Ludovic Bource
"Hugo" Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse" John Williams

Music (Original Song)
"Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from "Rio" Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Short Film (Animated)
"Dimanche/Sunday" Patrick Doyon
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg
"La Luna" Enrico Casarosa
"A Morning Stroll" Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
"Wild Life" Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

Short Film (Live Action)
"Pentecost" Peter McDonald and Eimear O'Kane
"Raju" Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
"The Shore" Terry George and Oorlagh George
"Time Freak" Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
"Tuba Atlantic" Hallvar Witzø

Sound Editing
"Drive" Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" Ren Klyce
"Hugo" Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
"War Horse" Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

Sound Mixing
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
"Hugo" Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
"Moneyball" Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
"War Horse" Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
"Hugo" Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
"Real Steel" Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier



Jeremy's Reactions:

Oh where to start.

THE GOOD: I'm very happy for Terrence Malick and The Tree of Life even though I didn't expect either to get major nominations. Considering with what else the Academy went with, it is kind of a shock. The new voting rules obviously helped the film, as it isn't much of a stretch to think it could muster 250 1st place votes, but Malick's directing nod is interesting since he was left off the DGA ballot by his peers. He won't win...but he and the film deserve recognition. I'm also very happy for Rooney Mara who got a thoroughly deserving Best Actress nomination. She completely transformed herself for the role and carried much of that movie. It's the kind of dynamic performance I wish the Academy would recognize more often. Kudos also to Margin Call and The Ides of March for getting screenplay nods. Both are underrated movies I really liked and thought were worthy. While it is less surprising (because the Animators Branch hates motion-capture), I also am glad to see The Adventures of Tintin left off Best Animated Feature list. I may be in the minority, but I think the film is medicore crap – the equivalent of cinematic Ritalin for children.

THE BAD: I'm not all that surprised to see it, but War Horse was made relevant again as the Academy saw fit to do what the guilds and critics didn't. The Academy gave it a Best Picture nomination, along with Art Direction, Cinematography, Score and the Sound categories. Perhaps the biggest shocker of all the snubs was Project Nim – the overwhelming odds-on favorite to win – being left off Best Documentary Feature. True stunner there.

I'm less surprised than others (many thought it to be the best performances of the year) at Michael Fassbender's snub for Shame as well as Tilda Swinton's snub for We Need To Talk About Kevin. I am still surprised to see the stately (old) Academy seemingly go with the hot, young, cyberpunk Rooney Mara over the critical darling Swinton. While I thought he would get a nomination, I always gave the caveat that I had a hard time thinking the Academy would go for Shame – a raw, uncomfrotable NC-17 film about sex addiction. Films with really tough issues at their center like those two are tough sells with the Academy. While I'm not going to lose any sleep over it, I am also surprised the Academy snubbed Leonardo DiCaprio's turn as J. Edgar Hoover, opting instead for Demian Bichir as a gardener in East L.A. trying to keep his son out of the gang world in A Better Life. The latter isn't surprising, since the Academy loves moves about L.A., especially when it comes to race/minority issues (see: Crash). However, this of course provides us with my favorite mini-factoid of these Oscar nominations. Of the three minority actors nominated, we have two maids and a gardener. Hollywood and the Academy have come a long way since Hattie McDaniel (insert sarcasm here).

While it's not a shocker, it is still disheartening to think that Transformers: Dark of the Moon has more nominations (3) than: Drive, The Muppets, and 50/50...combined. Also, while I have great respect for Max von Sydow and he is the best part of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I don't necessarily think it's an award-worthy performance. Not a huge issue with it, but I would have preferred a few others getting that nod for better films like Ben Kingsley, Patton Oswalt (who should have gotten Jonah Hill's funnyman slot) or Alan Rickman (more for the franchise as a whole).

THE UGLY: And with one fell swoop the Academy lost the benefit of a doubt or leniency. As if nominating War Horse wasn't enough, the Academy – thanks to new voting rules for Best Picture that already seem broken beyond repair – rewarded Stephen Daldry and company with a Best Picture nomination for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. This means, of course, that there is a much better chance that Thomas Horn will be at the Oscars, while Michael Fassbender, Ryan Gosling, Tilda Swinton, Kirsten Dunst and Albert Brooks are not. Yuck. I know he's just a kid, but he's also an actor – the STAR of a major Hollywood production that was just named one of nine Best Picture nominees. That film is so undeserving it defies logic and reason. So not only have we gone back to the good ol' days and opted to reward nostalgic, uplifting films (some of what are indeed deserving), but the pendulum has swung so far back that way that the Academy is nominating third-rate schlockfests such as Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I wonder what they liked most about: the most annoying child performance in years or the looting of 9/11 to crank out a piece of Oscar bait crap. Stephen Daldry absolutely must have naked pictures of a large number of Academy voters. Seriously.

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FROM TWO WEEKS AGO:

From Drew (Guest):
With John Carter, I think it's Disney trying to take what James Cameron did with Avatar and see if they can do it themselves, granted they did this before with Tron: Legacy but that was a sequel to a film that had a cult fallowing. The only thing helping it is that it is bassed of a populer book series, but nothing on the level of LOTR or Dune, so it's still a gambel.

As for Warner Bros desperate for Akira, if they really want to turn a populer Anime Series into a movie franchise, they have a shit ton more, and frankly, better options from the anime pond. I could see Mobil Suit Gundam, Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing, or Death Note all being a big budget action movie, possibly have a level of westerniztion and bennefit from a wider fallowing then Akira.

I (and many others) would be shocked if John Carter came anywhere close to Avatar. I'm not even sure Disney is going for that. I think it's them owning this property and wanting to get a big family/sci-fi franchise out of it. Sort of what Marvel and Warner Bros. are able to crank out on a regular basis. The difference, of course, is that Marvel/DC/Harry Potter/LOTR have a lot more name brand than the Barsoom series. They really pushed Tron: Legacy to the hilt, with huge marketing and merchandise avenues and large presences at conventions, but it didn't seem to get that film to the level of success they wanted. John Carter is an even bigger hill to climb and they haven't done near the amount of marketing/merchandising with it as for Tron: Legacy so I would say that's not a great sign.

As for Japanese anime, I can't say I'm a hardcore fan or expert. The only one I've heard/seen from those you listed is Cowboy Bebop (which I quite liked) and I think a more Hollywood/Western take on that could work. The problem is that anime fans are such a niche group and Hollywood doesn't really seem to know what to do with the properties. If Akira (arguably the biggest, most well-known anime property) blows up in Warner Bros. face, I'd be surprised to see other major studios putting down a huge sum of money – especially if the built-in fanbase reacts poorly as has happened with Akira.

From The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest):
Just don't insult me again! I know where you blog! :-)

With John Carter, I can see a bomb. U.S. moviegoers don't give movies much of a chance. If it's not "great", then it's not worth their time. Many would rather download it. Even if it's super good, it's still not enough for them. Outside the U.S., they still do give movies a chance, so that could help them. I hope I'm wrong.

I would never imagine of insulting a regular reader! I don't know about American moviegoers not giving as much of a chance to certain movies as international audiences do. I just think they're different audiences with differing tastes. Most of the top grossing movies of the year generally have a larger percentage of their box office coming from international receipts. My #1 movie of the year, Hugo, has struggled at the box office and will certainly be a money-loser. Its box office failure applies just as much to it's international take as to its domestic haul. Movies like The Help and Bridesmaids did rather paltry numbers overseas, while something like Johnny English Reborn barely made a dent in this country but did pretty well in foreign markets. For John Carter, I'm not really sure if international audiences are going to get on board with it anymore than American ones will. That's just my opinion, though. As for the film being a bomb; if we were doing odds on it, I'd put them at better than 50/50.

From Dave C (Guest):
The Girl With Dragon Tattoo intro looks cool---but it has nothing to do with the movie other than random pieces of computer equipment. It's also kind of like porn for the guys that run BP and Exxon Mobil.

The MI4 intro, while also looking cool, showed the whole movie.

Yeah, that intro for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is almost a short piece of art. It's soooo gorgeous. You're right though – it really doesn't have much to do with the film itself, other than setting a tone for what is to come. It's shows literally nothing of the film, while the MI4 intro runs through nearly everything you're about to see. They both go for different things, but I thought they were both wildly successful and really were two of the best opening credits sequences of 2011.

From NoLifeKing66 (Guest):
Ridley Scott's Prometheus is almost certainly a prequel to the first Alien film, regardless of what Scott says. Even if the story is not directly related, it's still setting up the events of Alien. Any fan can easily recognize that the ship that explodes in the trailer is the same as the derelict ship found in the beginning of Alien, and the Space Jockey is clearly visible, if only for a moment. I really don't understand why Scott's denying it, or why the studio's allowing him to do so. Marketing the film as prequel to Alien makes much more sense financially. Maybe they want it to be a surprise? I don't know. I'm still excited for it.

Yeah, you're right. Really, everyone knows and it's sort of been the worst-kept secret in Hollywood for a few months. Really, the only reason there's even still any kind of question is because Scott and company won't directly talk about it and have kept the film under tight control. I think perhaps it originally stemmed from Scott not wanting to box himself into a corner and having to force a prequel or sequel, especially if he wasn't sure how much it would relate to Alien. As it has gone on though I think a lot of it is to help create buzz and excitement. It feels like he's doing some of that with his Blade Runner prequel as well. Actually, I think the more we've come to know of the connection between Prometheus and Alien, the more excited I've become...and I don't think I'm the only one.

From APrince66 (Guest):
I love Pingu's the Thing. I watched it about a week ago, and it surprised me how well they captured the small details of the scenes it spoofed.

Yeah we see a lot of these parody spoofs all over the internet, but I thought that was one of the best I've seen. You're right, it got a lot of details right and felt really spot-on.

From The Big Fat F*g (Guest):
I don't think the trailer for John Carter does a good job of generating interest in the movie. I've seen the trailer numerous times and if I wasn't a 411 reader, I'd have no clue what the movie is about. Horrible job of generating interest.

Sucker Punch might be interesting if you were REALLY fucked up, but I'm not sure if even that would do the trick.

It's weird isn't it? Like you said, if you weren't already a 411 reader or follower of any other particular movie site, would you feel like you had any idea of what John Carter was about? Would you have any inkling that this movie was one of the biggest films of the year with a $250 million budget? I don't think so. I agree with you, I think the marketing and buildup has been pretty piss-poor up to this point. It's not like they don't have anything to work with – it has an interesting story by Edgar Rice Burroughs considered a classic of science fiction, it's the live-action directorial debut for Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo, Wall*e) and stars Taylor Kistch of Friday Nights Live fame, a show everyone professes to love. Plus, it does have at least a bit of breathing room before The Hunger Games arrives in theaters and sucks the life out of everything in its way.

And yes, you'd have to be very, very, VERY fucked up to properly enjoy Sucker Punch.

FROM LAST WEEK:

From Guest#7103 (Guest):
Ew you liked Bellflower? Ew. Boo your opinions

Ew you DIDN'T like Bellflower? Boo YOUR opinion.

In all seriousness though, I can definitely see why it's not for everybody. Mumblecore itself is a very indie aesthetic/style and Bellflower is jarring much more from a visual standpoint than from a story one. Although that story – and the controversial macho way it handles women and relationships – is one that has, is and will engender debate for years to come. I can see both sides of it, but I ended up really liking it. It's not perfect, but my thing is that, we all say we want Hollywood to take risks, not play it safe, be bold and do something interesting and arresting. For me, there were very few films in 2011 – if any at all – that were quite like Bellflower. Plus, if you see their interviews and behind-the-scenes stuff (which I recommend, because the filmmakers' story is almost as compelling as in the film), you really come to appreciate and like these folks. It also reminded me of the magic of TRULY independent film-making and I thought there were few better debut feature films than that one.

From Ryan Haseldine (Guest):
Die Hard 4 had nothing b movie about it. It was a good action movie.

The storyline for Thor 2 is pretty obvious. Sif likes Thor but he likes Natalie Portman therefore Sif will turn on Thor and attack earth.

Okay, I sort of deserve that. I tend to throw a pretty loose interpretation and meaning of "B" movie around. The way I use it is less in the more traditional Ed Wood-sense, but more of a "this isn't a critical darling/Oscar movie". That's more of a me thing though.

As for Thor 2, I don't think anything is obvious about it. Is that in the comics? I'm guessing at one point in the comic book's history that may have played out, but do we really think that's the story Marvel are going to go with in their follow-up? I don't even feel like we got a huge look at Sif or even anything beyond a tease at a possible relationship between her and Thor. Maybe you're right...but one would think a bigger, more sinister villain would be on Marvel's mind for the sequel.

From The Great Capt. Smooth (Guest):
Hugo was quite good and different than I thought it would be. I was thinking "kids fantasy", but it turned out to be a date movie. They should've marketed it that way.

One of the things I love about Hugo is that I don't really think it perfectly fits into any one genre or concept. It's a little date-movie and a little kids' fantasy, but it's also so much more. I do agree – for a film with such a huge budget and helmed by arguably America's greatest living director, I thought they did a terrible job of releasing and marketing it. Got lost in the shuffle and is one of the bigger losers (financially) of the season. It's such a shame...although, I have a feeling it might get some help from the Oscars.

From BLACK (Guest):
THOR 2 needs Balder the Brave! ....or at least Beta Ray Bill.

I'll take your word for it.

From Guest#8662 (Guest):
I refuse to see Hanna on principle because of how heavily it's been marketed

I don't even understand this. Darth Funk, what do you think?

From Darth Funk (Guest):
I refuse to see Hanna on principle because of how heavily it's been marketed
Posted By: Guest#8662 (Guest) on January 18, 2012 at 08:06 AM

Let me guess, you're writing this on a Mac while sipping a coffee in Starbucks, right?

Fuckin hipster douchebags

Go see Hanna. Unfortunately, I have NO IDEA what the marketing (which didn't seem very heavy to me) has to do with anything. You just can't please some people, I guess.

From JT (Guest):
I watched Hanna, it was just ok. Maybe I love action too much, I don't know, I understand why they focused on her experiencing the world for the first time, not knowing how everything works, but considering she's been trained everyday of her life to be a killer, I wish I could of seen a little more of what she was capable of.

I guess it is sort of true we don't see Hanna do much killing after her initial detainment. But she wasn't trained to simply kill everybody or be some kind of professional assassin. She was trained to kill Marissa, those who got in her way, defend herself and meet up with her father. Those parts where she is experiencing the world for the first time are a huge part of what the movie is about and were parts I personally loved. You all know what I think; I know I'll be defending/championing Hanna for years to come.

From APrince66 (Guest):
Not sure if the irritating awfulness of Colin Farrell can be negated by Bryan Cranston, so I will have to pass on Total Recall.

Thor to most definitely needs some Beta Ray Bill

Aw, come on now. I don't hate Colin. You can't totally hate the guy if you've ever seen In Bruges. Maybe we need to cast Brendan Gleeson just to make sure though.

Chalk another one up for Beta Ray Bill. Boy, my lack of comic books really hurts at times like this. Where's 411's own Shawn Lealos when I need him?

From NYF (Guest):
Liking Tree of Life makes you a bad person.

I'll admit, this made me laugh...even if it was meant seriously. I know TTOL has its detractors – a number of whom could be described as vociferous – but I really do think time will tell. Maybe it won't happen, but something tells me the film's impact and legacy will only increase as the years go by. I'm willing to bet it will be on a number of Top Films of the Decade lists at the end of this decade. It very well may be at the top of those lists, whether the majority/mainstream like it or not.

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Trailer of the Week: Project X




Funny Video of the Week: "The Day The LOLcats Died"




That's all for this week. Let me know what you think in the comments section. For now, this is Jeremy Wilson, off the record, on the QT...



...and definitely, "Hush Hush!"